Dubai 2015: Planetarium, science museum, souk

Dubai Safari and Dubai Frame among projects set for completion this year

By

Parag Deulgaonkar

PublishedTuesday, March 24, 2015

The planetarium has been approved and construction will start this year in Mushrif Park. (Supplied)

Dubai is set to get a planetarium, a science museum, a souk (market) for second-hand building materials and most importantly, 13 new parks in 2015, Emirates 24|7 reveals.

“We have many projects and the complete list will come out as soon as the [Municipality] budget comes out next month,” Abdulla Mohammed Rafia, Assistant Director General for Engineering and Planning Sector, Dubai Municipality, told this website in an exclusive interview.

“The science museum is under study as we believe every city needs something like this. As for the planetarium, it has been approved and we look to start construction within this year in Mushrif Park.”

Another project coming up will be a souk for building materials and second-hand construction materials in the Al Warsan area similar to the Al Aweer used-car market.

“We usually build a market when there is no interest from the private sector.

“We did build the used-car market and today it is the world’s biggest market for used cars. We have applied the same concept for the new souk.”

Besides, the city will get 13 new community parks this year.

The move comes after municipality announced in 2014 plans to spend Dh6 billion to transform the city into a green paradise by 2025.

According to official data, there is nearly 7,000 hectares of green space in the emirate, which is expected to increase to over 12,000 hectares by Expo 2020 through landscaping and horticulture projects.

Though there are private horse riding clubs, the municipality will be building the first horse-riding club for ladies in Al Garhoud at an outlay of Dh60 million.

Among the other major projects planned are Dh30 billion Desert Rose and Aladdin City off Dubai Creek.

Two new attractions – Desert Safari and Dubai Frame – will be completed and opened this year.